Acropolis Rally: Citroen preview

Citroen in the land of the Greek Gods
Following the team's superb win in Sardinia, Citroen Total has already turned its attention to
the 2008 Acropolis Rally, round seven of this year's World Rally Championship. Four Citroen C4
WRCs will be in...

Citroen in the land of the Greek Gods

Following the team's superb win in Sardinia, Citroen Total has already turned its attention to
the 2008 Acropolis Rally, round seven of this year's World Rally Championship. Four Citroen C4
WRCs will be in Greece to take on the country's demanding stages: two for Citroen Total crews
Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and Dani Sordo/Marc Marti, plus those cars entered by Urmo
Aava/Kuldar Sikk and Conrad Rautenbach/David Senior which are run by PH Sport with the
support of technicians from Citroen Technologies.

The Acropolis Rally has long been one of the WRC's classic fixtures and its reputation was
forged by the combination of its uniquely punishing stages and extreme conditions. Cars and
crews alike are put to a gruelling test and this year's menu of 20 stages totalling 339km should
once again ensure that the event lives up to its reputation. The route, which takes competitors
to the north and west of Athens, is practically unchanged compared with 2007, although the
organisers have revived the tradition of flagging away rallying's modern-day heroes from the
foot of the Acropolis in Athens, under the gaze of Greek mythology's Gods.

"The Acropolis Rally hasn't been particularly kind to us over the years," says Citroen Sport's
Technical Manager Xavier Mestelan-Pinon. "Not only is its terrain very demanding but it is also
extremely humbling. Several cumulative parameters need to be taken into account, from the
hard-packed surface to the high speeds, heat and dust, etc. It's a cocktail that really puts the
suspension and tyres to the test. We prepared for this year's Acropolis in Greece near Livadia
in April and, as is always the case, our C4s will benefit from our latest developments. We hope
to be able to challenge for victory."

That is the wish of Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena, too, and the reigning World Champions
have no intention of seeing their score of world class wins stagnate at 40. "It's true, I like
round numbers, but I have nothing against adding to our current tally, especially since that
would mean we are competitive and fighting for the title," confirms Seb. "In Sardinia, we
succeeded in closing the gap with our rival, and the Acropolis Rally could be a good chance to
reduce the deficit further still. It's not my favourite rally. These rough roads make the cars
suffer, and that's not something I like. The fact that we now have to run without run-flat
mousse in our tyres could also see the 2008 event turn out to be something of a lottery,
although we saw in Sardinia that the Pirelli Scorpion Hard is capable of soaking up the knocks.
Let's hope that will be the case again in Greece where we will be aiming for first place."

The question of tyres is also present in the minds of Dani Sordo and Marc Marti. "A top result
will necessitate keeping clear of punctures, or at least being quick about it if we do need to
stop and change a wheel," predicts Dani. "Running fifth on the road on Day 1 will play in our
favour and I will try to make the most of that to build up a sufficient gap over our rivals. I
don't want to suffer the same fate as I did in Sardinia where all the 'road sweeping' we had to
do was a handicap. I felt very comfortable with the C4 on the Greek stages last year and I
hope that will again be the case this time round. This is a rally that calls for patience,
endurance and taking it gently with the car. I'm hoping for a good finish; for us and for
Citroen."